Tanzania - Ethnic groups

Photo by: Eric Isselée

Mainland-native Africans constitute 99% of the total population. About
120 peoples have been categorized into 5 ethnic groups distinguishable
by their physical characteristics and languages. Approximately 95% of
Tanzanians may be roughly classified as Bantu, a comparatively recent
blend mainly of Hamitic and Negroid stocks. Tribes range in membership
from only a few thousand to the Sukuma tribe, which numbers more than 2
million. Other major tribes include the Nyamwezi, Makonde, Haya, and
Chagga. The Luo, east of Lake Victoria, are the only people of Nilotic
origin; the Masai of the northern highlands are Nilo-Hamites. A very
small number of Bushmen-like people are scattered throughout northern
Tanzania, where small tribes of Cushitic origin also live. The
inhabitants of Zanzibar and Pemba are chiefly descendants of mainland
Africans or are of mixed African and Arab extraction. The remaining 1%
of the populace is made up of non-Africans, including Arabs, Asians, and
Europeans.